


Much Too Close

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-01
Updated: 2014-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-07 00:09:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1113158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty years after the final battle, Katara returns to Ba Sing Se to oversee the celebrations and bumps into Zuko. Initially, they had remained close friends but with the progression of their relationships, they had drifted apart. Now single, Zuko and Katara are in the one place that holds the reminder of the beginning of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Much Too Close

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pearlynn](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=pearlynn).



> For the Zutara Secret Santa over at LiveJournal :)

She feels the shift in the weather and knows it isn’t long now. Water may be her element, the thing that practically runs through her veins, but the trip has been long and she can’t wait to get to Ba Sing Se. The familiar unease sets in again as she thinks on her destination and, though the waves rhythmically hit the boat in what she generally finds a comforting matter, she cannot help but be uncertain about how she will feel when she arrives. She hasn’t seen the majestic city since she left it twenty years prior and its walls hold so many pivotal memories for her; moments when she joyfully laughed, bitterly cried and when she found herself growing up unexpectedly.

Katara closes her eyes as she feels the sea breeze moving through her hair and the salt spray against her skin. She hasn’t had a good cup of tea since she left and, although she knows there will be officials waiting to take her to the palace to revisit the celebration schedule she knows by heart, Katara has every intention of slipping by them and getting the best tea in the city. After all, she knows the owner personally. It won’t take long for her to be found but she only needs the small reprieve it will offer.

Katara nods to the crew as she heads below deck and makes sure she is alone before she changes into her Earth Kingdom clothing. It is a little tighter than she remembers it being and she’s glad she has time as she quickly takes out a couple of seams here and there. When she pricks herself, the blood beading on her thumb causes her to remember her final days in the Fire Nation capital, surrounded by a sea of red.

_For two weeks it has been just her and Zuko in a nearly empty palace as the few remaining guards are sent out to proclaim an end to the War. Previously, it would be tantamount to suicide to remain without any protection but with Azula locked up and news that an imprisoned Ozai is on his way back, Zuko is confident enough in their combined abilities to see no real problem. Almost daily she tries to heal the damage Azula had done and although Zuko heals quickly outwardly, she knows he still hurts when he moves._

_Things between them had been changing for a while, but those weeks together change her and Katara is startled to receive news that Aang is but days away. It’s not as though she’d forgotten about him-how could she? It’s just a surprise to her that the routine she has fallen comfortably into is soon to end._

_At least, that’s what she tells herself._

_The next day she learns that Zuko is petitioning the Warden, firmly, to release Mai and Ty Lee from their unjustified sentence and return them to the Fire Nation. There’s a small ache in her heart for unknown reasons but she resolutely ignores it as she prepares for news from her father. He arrives the following day, his message having been lost en route, and everything after is such a whirlwind that she only has a chance to catch glimpses of Zuko in passing._

_When she accidentally witnesses the kiss between a newly arrived Mai and the soon-to-be Firelord, Katara decides to banish any thoughts of romanticism that may have been creeping up on her. She practically nods to herself as she remembers that they were recently in a life-or-death situation and a connection between them is perfectly normal; certainly nothing to be dwelt on._

_When they all decide to take a long weekend in Ba Sing Se with Iroh before they separate for what may be years, Katara makes up her mind to think sensibly about her future. Returning to the South Pole is only natural, and although Aang is the Avatar, he will be returning to the South Pole with her to help with the rebuilding. It takes three months for her to realise that she needs more than he can offer and they separate as good friends._

Any feelings she may have had for the Master Firebender are forgotten with time, only to resurface on the odd occasion she remembers him as a teenage crush. News from the Fire Nation has been fairly scarce, and mostly military, so she imagines he and Mai probably have a few kids running around, keeping them on their toes. For his sake, she hopes so, because she knows he would want his own chance to leave a mark. A positive one.

Despite knowing that Zuko will be busy in the Fire Nation coordinating celebrations there, a small part of her holds hope that she can see him once before she returns to the South Pole. Just once.

However, it is the impending tea break with the kindly old man that has her lips forming a smile. She had written ahead to ensure he would be in the city during her time there so she could see him and was delighted to find that he would be. Pulling her cloak on, Katara slips silently off the ship as she feels them pull into the bay. If anybody notices a lone figure riding the waves into the harbour, they don’t find it odd. She doesn’t even get a second glance as she weaves her way through the gathering crowd and she finds her way to the tea shop by memory, only making one wrong turn on the way.

When she spots the establishment, she is still across the street, just about to step out of the alley. Katara sees Iroh emerge from the back, his eyes sparkling with mirth, as he talks with a customer and she is taking her first step into the street when they sit at a table in the front.

Her breath catches.

It is the scar she notices because he is in Earth Kingdom clothing and has a hat covering his hair. He laughs at something Iroh says and although the noise in the street is loud, she imagines she can hear it clearly, and it sends a warm shiver down her back. Her heart thunders noisily and there is a moment, just a moment, when she thinks something might be wrong. It has been years since she has felt this way and the sudden onset catches her off guard. Zuko tilts his head slightly and her heart practically stops when the golden eyes pin hers down from all the way across the street, through all the people.

Katara knows she cannot escape now. She has been seen and any notions of backing into the alley and fleeing are useless. Hundreds of thoughts rush through her mind in a barrage of memories, hopes and fears but everything is silenced when she sees something she hasn’t seen in twenty years. Something that she’d only seen in those two weeks of seclusion they shared after the defeat of Azula.

His smile for her.


End file.
